Sewage treatment and oil and water separation



May 3, 1949. w. M. CAMPBELL 2,468,864

sEwAGE TREATMENT AND 01E AND wATEE SEPARATION Filed Dec. 29, 1945 y v l 2 sheets-sheet V1 BY gd/J Wg ATTORNEY May 3, 1949. w. M. CAMPBELL SEWAGE TREATMENT ANDYOIL AND WATER SEPARATION 2 Sheets-SheerI 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1945 @M1 .w WM? E Wmwm Y 6M my m Patented May 3, 1949 l e SWAGEfTREATM'ENT AND1 OIL-AND WATER -=SEPARATI0N warren Mlompieuwimrbp, Mass. NYneinieatim maenner 29,1945, sername. I'638,271

vlclims. (C1: 210;"5)

`1"hepresenti invention Yrelateseto'Water and fFiguren 2 shows a section" takenf'on the'line sewagetre'atment and also to oilandfwatervsepa- A-Ai oiFigure 1.

ration. sThe system/:according yto -fthe-present Figure 3 shjvsa "section taken substantial-ly on invention mawservefin-theinitialtreatmentf of vfthe line B-B of Figure 1. e

sewage#andwinthe'treatment-for.purification 5 Figure 4 shows amodified section-ofthe def *from-which-solidmatter'has--been removed. v vice of Figure l-onpomparat'ivelythe same sec- At the present-time-many-large 'ctiesdispose tion lineas-taken in Figure 1, and, l `ltheir""rawrsewage'into'f'riversv fromfwhich'drnk- Figure 5 shows a' cir`cuitdiagram"of 'the elecingf'water 'is' `drawn vati af distance not -sufliciently trical apparatusv which may' b used incne'c'riion ffar' awayso-that it l`canbeecertain--thatthe-water 10 with the operation ofjthe,system. A l

notpollutedfor contaminated. Inord'er'to in- In the arrangementfofwFigures 1,. 2` and there f-'surefsafeldrinking"water in"suehr'placesfffthe is shown an elongated )tank I .f illll-ll'Il'llfl7` bepf 4water mu'stf be `further"-li'iere'd vand usually heavily concrete, metal or` other composition which ywill "'-fdo'ot'dred -"with purifying chemicals, such *as v standlup for the purpose `fc irv'11"1ii:l1v the@ tankis chlorine and -fothero'similar*chemicals These 1 used. Atjthe rightend-there'is'indicatedanfnlet fmethodsfof purifying ithe"waterarefhowevernot flow pipe-2' and at the other enden outlet flow 'whllyesatisfactory"andfffurthertfgive f the water if pipe' 3; through which a -continuousgflow of Wa' #an undesirableiftaste 'f'Furtherfdisposalfof raw =ter to-'be purified `may be maintained. jlntially fsewage"in"rivers'po1lutefthe water for 'sucht a fattheinlet opening to the right of the tank there lagreat distance yfro'mfxthef'soxrce off'disposalf'that 3" is providerawall'fl extending transversely across bathing andfotler-iwaterffsprts mu'stbefaban- @fthe tank This AWall r(extends upwards tothe vii'don'ed over ail-argel` areaf inf'aditori'vto the" fact einityofthe lei/ e1l'of' the inlet vpipe but slightly -"that`sh'lifef'is practically" completely destroyed. v belowthe-'level-of-wateryin they tank. Between The desirability of sanitary sewage disposal y'is `this wall'fand'theright tank Wall there is a Isecond gradually 'beingf -reotognizede andi proper=-mthods 'wpart-ition5-extending across` the' tank from Ythe andmeans-forsuchpurposes are notoiilyecotop of the tank downward.;- to the vicinity of the =ornicallyfsoundbutalso mayf'be1madeecornibottom.r A screen v#basket `Ii fis" provided inthe 11 cally'prtab-le Vsincesewage*disposal after-proper espacebetweenwthewalls 4-and 5, or iffdesired-e Vlpurification rprovides by!"products 'whi-ch'--'my`- be screen may be placed across-the space between Yfns'efullyfe'nfnz'loirei-i. 30g-the w al1s4anol` 5. vThespace between thewalls The' ldisposal-oi vraw "sewage intoy riversand Ill and 5 where the screen or--screen'basliet iscon- HflakesIliasbeen-#the causefofy po11utionfof11the'water 4'tained-is filled tothe levelof-thel wa1l'4"with-a rto Isuclwalnfextent-that ccorrective'm'easures"are '--ltering-4 bedY 1- which--may be^ofcrusl1ed` storie, 'n'ow'eimperativeformealth-end; comfort. Raw Aquartzsanol; Raschigringsyor some other similar sewagefhasbeen disposed-in lrivers and-lakesbes-limaterial.

cause for the most part perhaps-90% -is--water. The-center portion ofthe-tankto-theileft ofthe Treatmentofthis `water with-'separation oi"` the '-'wall 4 `is 'preferably formed withwa low 'point l sludge Will-again purifyfthe water-so that it may somewhere-- vnear`r the wall 4, 'for instanceat'g, #safely bepermittedv to-ow 01T- Ainto` rivers and lwhere-an outlet is #provided and theoutletppe 9 lakes withoutI contaminating ltl'1er n,` lwhile the 40;for- `r'em'oval Iofthe#Heavymaterial lwh-ichf-might 'sludge might otherwise be.disposed-of'aftertreatfgradua-lly' settleat-'thefbottomof vthe tank.

wmentif desired-forf-usetul purposes. -Thewater-flowsover thefadjustableweir I0 -at This v`isfaccoirnplished in -thel present lsystem ftheftop' of lther'wallf inra Acomparatively even as 'well asoiland Water'sepa'ration which may lslow-'owlinfsuch'a manner'asto' permit the 'sepalso-be usedfor othetfpurposea 451Yarationof the oil'` trom-the' water they oir surfaee -The present inetlfil dfalsooftfers a practical *iy'ing on'topff thefwa'ter'fsurface as indicated'by Ameans of sewage purificationso-that-disposal of thesmallfliqudsection I I.

thefsewage-may'be accomplished without-fpollu- To the-"left'ofY thecentral portion I2 of the tignorcontaminationinany-way. L l elongated Jtanki'are a rpair 'of baie' plates I3 The#PresentAf-llveniQlflr Will be'more fully de- 50:'and I4, "the bafleplate I3 having one edge scribed inconnection'w-ithtl1e-description-in -the lexteriolingto the Ibottom wall near'ertlie top waspecification i below 'when taken in connection A"ter srface of the ftank. The 'second baille I4 eX- "withthe dr aWings;inwhichtends in an arc upward#fromai point below the ligure-l-shows aplanviewofya waterftreat- -ftopof the bafl'le-1'3-to/the-vcinityof the water men-ttankaccordingtothe present-invention. "u'surf'ace 'To-*the fleft 'ofltlie baffle' VIII an outlet I6 is provided for the central portion of the tank through the removable filter bed I'I into the outlet ow compartment I8 to the section I9 of the tank which is partitioned ofi from the rest of the tank by the wall 2B extending upward to the top of the tank from somewhere near the bottom suiiicient to allow the fiow of water out of the base of the filter bed I'I. The filter bed I1 may be a basket containing similar iilter materials as that described for the member 'I at the other side of the tank. In addition the filter bed at its bottom may be provided with a group of aera tion pipes 2l through which air or oxygen maybe blown up through the water which flows down through the filter bed. The outlet pipe 3 may stand at a slightly lower level than the inlet pipe 2. The fiow of water through the tank may be traced by the series of short arrows commencing with the arrow d at the right inlet oi the tank. The water iiows downward as indicated by the arrow between the partition 5 and the end wall upward through the filter bed over the weir I into the central portion of the tank between the baliles I 3 I4 upward on the outer side of the bafe I4 from which position it ows downward through the iilter bed I'I and upwards on the left end of the tank between the end wall and the partition 20 outward through the inlet pipe 3.

The separation of the oil and water is accomplished by means of a surface scraper 22 which reciprocates back and forth transversely across the tank and pushes the surface oil over the adjustable weirs 23 and 24 one each on either side of the tank where the oil scraper works. This is shown more in detail in Figure 2. The oil flows over the side wall of the tank at 25 and 26 and into suitable collecting troughs 2'I and 28. This oil scraper may be supported by a belt 29 which in turn is driven by sprocket chains 33, 34 and 35, and gears 30, 3l and 32 at one side of the tank and 35, 3l and 38 at the other side of the tank, the gears 3l), 3l and 32 being driven by the shaft 39 which is turned by the motor 40, and the gears 36, 3'! and 38 being driven by the shaft 4I which is turned by the motor 42.

The motors 'til and 42 work alternately, one carrying the scraper in one direction transversely across the surface of the tank, and the other returning the scraper back to its initial position. For this purpose limit and reversing switches are provided as indicated in Figure for deenergizing one motor when the scraper comes to one end of the tank and energizing the other motor to return it to the opposite end of the tank. This is are forcibly opened and the circuit to the motor 4Q is broken by the deinagnetization of the relay 4l. At the same time the contacts 48 are vmomentarily closed .which energizes the relay coil 49 closing both pairs of contacts B for starting the operation of the motor 42. The contacts 48 open again as the bar 45 leaves the limit switch 44, but since a circuit is complete through the contacts 5G, the motor 42 will continue to run until the contacts 5B are forcibly opened when the bar dii comes in contact with the limit switch 43. The cycle is again repeated by the closing of the contacts 5I which starts in operation the reenergzation of the motor 4D.

In Figure 4 a slight modification is shown of the arrangement of Figure 3. In .this case the inlet is the same as described in connection with Figure 3. In the central chamber 6U of the tank of Figure e, an elongated bottom slope is provided over which a scraper 6| is driven by a belt G2 operating over the pulleys 63 and 64, one of which may be driven by a motor. A well is provided at the lower end of the slope into which the sludge falls. This sludge is pumped out through the line 66 by the sludge pump 61. The natural tendency in Figure 4 is for the flow to move from the right to the left. The oil surface on top of the water is removed by the V-shaped trough 68 extending transversely across the tank near the positions of the top bailie 69 corresponding to the baffle I4.

In the operation of the system in accordance with the present invention, the water entering at the right should flow at such a rate across the tank that in the central part of the tank beyond the Weir I il, the oil droplets will have a chance to come to the top surface of the water by the time they have progressed to the position of the scraper and the solid particles will have a change to settle to the bottom of the tank. For a more rapid ow, the tank must be proportionately longer.

rlhe l'taschig rings in the iilter act to separate the oil from the solid particles, thus making the oil lighter so that it more readily rises to the top of the water. The scraper in Figure 3 may be slotted to accommodate the projection of the bailie It and scrape the oil on both sides of the baiiie. Besides this however, since the water is forced downwards through the lter bed I1, the lighter oil particles if any are present, will tend to be forced to the surface in this action as the water is forced against the upward fiow of air or oxygen. The air flow from the pipe 2I will also tend to carry the oil particles up to the surface as well also as the material of the filter bed.

The separation of the solid particles and water before water purification and carrying oli the settled material from a 10W level of the tankwill prevent any recontamination of the purified water.

When used for sewage treatment alone, the first filter at the right may be eliminated and the solid matter may be permitted to settle at the bottom of the central section of the long tank and gathered at the sludge pump inlet. Purification of the water is obtained in this case by forcing the water, after it has passed through the bafe, following separation of oil and solid matter, downward through the filter bed against an upward fiow of oxygen. Since this purification takes place at the end of the system there is no chance of contamination.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

l. A system for water and sewage treatment and oil separation, comprising an elongated tank having an inlet pipe at one end and an outlet pipe at the other end, a set of spaced baille walls at the inlet end, the first extending downward from the top of the tank and the second upwards from the bottom of the tank, a filter lbed extending across the Space between said bafe walls whereby #accorse/i flowx is "downward: through: said. secoridtnlterfbd, the" liquid"`1owffrom the. rst;to"`the second set "flba'fe wa'l1s.b'eing sl'owarid the space"com l `p'arativ'elylongLperrriitting the, oilgradually to' rise 'to' the surface in"the"region' of the' secondlsetpi bafile Walls; means'or removingtne ilfr'om' the water-,in said region aridlmeans fordraining "the sludge from 'the bottom f the tank.

2. A systemofor water-'.-iimdwsewage treatment and oil separation, comprising an elongated tank` having anf -inlet-pipe-'"at-'one fend* and" an outlet pipe at the other end, a set offspa'cedbaflie walls at the inletoendf.thetrsteextending downward from the top of the tank andthe second upwards .fronr'the bottom of theta'n'k, an adjustable :weirr .exter'i'ding"across'said sec'oiidmafle wallat the 'top' for establishing the" liquid"level in"` .'thetank iup totheirstseuofbaiewalls, a iilterlb'ed extending acrossthespacebetween Saidbaiewalls whereby the "ow 'is"upwards through: the'fr'filter 20 "from the bottom'of'thetankupwards acro'ssthel "path" orow andthe otherof said secoridisetex- 'tending rom the top'of 4Vsaid tank: downward whereby thefifl'owiisidownwardithrough said secmoving the oil from the water in said region and means for draining the sludge from the bottom of the tank.

3. A system for water and sewage treatment and oil separation, comprising an elongated tank having an inlet pipe at one end and an outlet pipe at the other end, a set of spaced baffle walls at the inlet end, the first extending downward from the top of the tank and the second upwards from the bottom of the tank, a filter bed extending across the space between said baie walls whereby the ow is upwards through the lter bed and over the second baffle wall, a second set of spaced bafe walls in the path of flow to the outlet pipe near the outlet end of the tank, the iirst of said second set of baille walls extending from the bottom of the tank upwards across the path of flow and the other of said second set extending from the top of said tank downward therein, a second nlter bed extending across the space between said second set of baille walls whereby the flow is downward through said second filter bed, a plurality of pipes at the bottom of said iilter bed having openings through which oxygen containing gas is adapted to be forced in a direction opposite to the liquid flow, the liquid iiow from the first to the second set of baflle walls being slow and the space comparatively long permitting the oil gradually to rise to the surface in the region of the second set of baie walls, means for removing the oil from the water in said region and means for draining the sludge from the bottom of the tank.

4. A system for water and sewage treatment and oil separation, comprising an elongated tank having an inlet pipe at one end and an outlet pipe at the other end, a set of spaced baftie walls at the inlet end, the first extending downward from the top of the tank and the second upwards from the bottom of the tank, a filter bed extending across the space between said baffle Walls 6 whereby"the""fl'ow=is upwards through the' lter lbed. ar'idover .the second-barile wall; a secondset of spacedv b'aiiiewalls in the'Y path of'flow toit-he .outletpipe nearthe'outletfend of the tank, 'th-e ll`vfirstp said 'second 'Setiofbaiiie wallsk extending from th; bottomV of the'tank upwards across vthe ip'ath oiiiow andthe other of saidse-cond s'et exiteding"'fr,om""the"top of said tank `downward therein a'. second "filter bed lextending across 'the `ually. to "rise to the surface in the region of the 'second s'et of baille walls, means for removing the oil from the water. in said region, said means com- `'p'risirig 'a 'scraper positioned longitudinally of said "tank'exten'ding into' 'theltop section of thetank "wherethe .oil layer has formed on the top of `^the water, a belt supporting said scraper 'for )movement acrosss'aid tank,'motor power "means lv*'for moving said. 'scraper across said tank, and ad- "justable weirsiat the sides of said tank parallelly V positioned with respect to said scraper over which said oil adapted'to'. accumulate is made toiiow.

t55A system for .water and sewage 'treatment and oil separationcomprisng an elongated tank "having an inlet pipe at one end and an outlet pipe atr the other end, a s'etof spaced baffle walls at l"the" inlet end,Y the'r'st extending downwardfrom ."the top of the tank and the second upwards from "".the 'b'o'ttoinroflfthe 'tank,fa filter bed extending "acrossthe space-between said barile walls whereby theiliiow is upwards' through-the filter bed and "over 'the secondbaflie wall, a second set of spaced baille vwalls in the path of flow to the outlet pipe near the outlet end of the tank, the rst of said second set of baffle walls extending from the bot- 40 tom of the tank upwards across the path of flow and the other of said second set extending from the top of said tank downward therein, a second filter bed extending across the space between said second set of baflie walls whereby the flow is downward through said second iilter bed, the liquid ow from the rst to the second set of baffle walls being slow and the space comparatively long permitting the oil gradually to rise to the surface in the region of the second set of bafe walls, means for removing the oil from the water in said region,

said means comprising a scraper positioned longitudinally of said tank extending into the topil section of the tank where the oil` layer has formedon the top of the water, a belt supporting saidA scraper for movement across said tank, a motorpower means for moving said scraper back and forth across said tank including limit switches for reversing the direction of movement of said scraper when it has reached the side of said tank,

and adjustable weirs at the sides of said tank parallelly positioned with respect to said scraper over which said oil adapted to accumulate is made to flow.

6. A system for water and sewage treatment and oil separation comprising an elongated tank having an inlet pipe at one end in the upper part of the tank and an outlet pipe at the other end at the same level as the inlet pipe, a set of spaced baffle walls at the inlet end, the first extending downward from the top of the tank and the second upwards from the bottom of the tank, a removable coarse Iilter bed having a level not higher than the top of Said second baffle wall extending across the space between said baffle walls, the top of said second baffle wall being approximately at the level of said inlet pipe, a second set of spaced baiile walls in the path of ow to the outlet pipe near the outlet end of the tank, the irstof said second set of baille walls extending from the bottom of the tank upwards across the path of flow of the liquid and the other of said second set extending from the top of said tank downward therein, a second removable iilter bed extending across the space between said second set of bafe Walls, the level of said bed being below the top of the last upwardly extending baille wall, the liquid ow from the rst to the second set of baile walls being slow and the space comparatively long, permitting the oil gradually to rise to the surface in the region of the second set of baille walls and means for removing the oil from I the water in said region.

7. A system for water and sewage treatment and oil separation comprising an elongated tank having an inlet pipe at one end in the upper part of the tank and an outlet pipe at the other end at the same level as the inlet pipe, a set of spaced baille walls at the inlet end, the rst extending downward from the top of the tank and the second upwards from the bottom of the tank, a rethe level of Said inlet pipe, a pair of spaced parr titioning walls extending across said tank in the vicinity of the outlet pipe, the one nearest the outlet pipe extending from the top of the tank downward and the other from the bottom of the tank upwards, a removable lter bed having a level no higher than the last mentioned wall, and

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 652,155 Wingrove June 19, 1900 748,981 Oliver Jan 5, 1904 777,159 Tunbridge Dec. 13, 1904 805,880 Rider Nov 28, 1905 819,664 Lowe May 1, 1906 976,923 Rothwell Nov. 29, 1910 1,095,409 Mann et a1. May 5, 1914 1,166,802 Albert et a1. Jan. 4, 1916 1,307,686 Linden June 24, 1919 1,700,791 Elrod Feb. 5, 1929 1,703,041 Imhoi Feb. 19, 1929 1,743,524 Cabrera Jan. 14, 1930 1,804,743 Cannon May 12, 1931 2,159,409 Tark May 2.3, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 450,422 Great Britain July 17, 1936 376,076 France Mar. 23, 1907 629,859

France Feb. 25, 1927 

